Confronting Activist Art and Design from a Museological Perspective

Hong Kong Polytechnic University , 21.03.2016

M+ Matters: Confronting Activist Art and Design from a Museological Perspective examines creative practices arising from acts of civil disobedience and movements for social change, and the questions, challenges, opportunities, and obligations they present for collections-based museums of visual culture. Often ad hoc, spontaneous, and site-specific, this genre of creative production, whether generated by professional, grassroots, or informal actors, provokes further debate concerning its place, and appropriateness, within an institutional setting and framework.

In light of the 2014 Umbrella Movement in Hong Kong and other mass protests around the world, this talk will explore key issues such as: What are the politics, and political implications, of a museum collecting and exhibiting activist work or, conversely, avoiding the subject altogether? How does one define the ‘work’—as a creative expression, a document, a historical artefact? And how might this shape collecting criteria? What place, if any, does contemporary activism have in a museum, and might institutional inclusion also represent a form of co-option?

Date:21 March 2016

Time:7 – 9 pm (Registration starts at 6:30pm)

Venue:Lecture Theatre, V322, 3/F, Jockey Club Innovation Tower, School of Design, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Weather arrangement:When typhoon signal no. 8 or above is hoisted, or the Black Rainstorm Warning Signal is issued by the Hong Kong Observatory on or after 4:30pm on the event date, the event will be cancelled.